The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-03-25
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our regular correspondent
WASHINGTON, March 2lst, 1887


The most Important legislation expec-
Cause of the stupid organization of the
House. Speaker Carlisle demonstrated
an utter lack of judgment and political
leadership in assigning Mr.. Randall to
a controlling position which that gentle
man used to defeat his party's pledges.
1t is stated that since the adjournment
of Congress, several prominent Demo-
cratic members have told Mr.. Carlisle
that unless he promised to keep Mr..
Randall off the Appropriations Commit
tee at the next session, they would not
support him (Carlisle) for reelection TO
the Speakership.
The hundreds of Government clerks
who are suffering from the unsanitary
condition of the Treasury building,
place all of the responsibility for the
failure Of the bill to improve it on Mr..
RandalIs shoulders. His disposition is
to oppose all appropriations that are not
in his opinion necessary. When spoken
to in regard to the unhealthful air of the
Treasury, he foollshly remarked that he
had visited that Department on several
occasions, and could not smell any sew
er gas.
The Democratic party promises to be
weakened in the next Congress even be-
yond Its present condition. The Fifti-
eth Congress will come in with two
thirds of the Democrats new men, and
those who have studied its composition
carefully since the election agree that
the pers0nd is weak. A Democratic
member who was talking on the subject
recently acknowledged that everything
i'm the last House went to the bad, as far
as the party was concerned, for want of
a leader, and he added that the next
House would be mere plaything in the
hands of the Republicans on account of
the new recruits on the other side who
are utterly without experience or repu-
tation. 1t requires an apprenticeship of
two years for q man to learn the parlia-
mentary rules and working methods of
Congress, and in the matter of leader
ship the Republicans stood in bold con-
trast to the Democrats in the House
which has just closed its existence.
AS Senator Edmunds is seldom drawn
into free expressions of his views on GER
tain subjects, they are all the more
priced when he does occasionally in
dulge in talk. In his opinion, Mr..
CleVeland's Administration is not sue
cessful, whatever the desires and inten-
tons of those at the head of affairs may
have been. 1t was impossible for them
to follow out successful policy with the
weight of party 30 composed. While
ali the Presidents have made some bad
appointments, he thinks Mr.. Cleveland
has been more often betrayed than any.
A large percentage of his appointees
have been either incompetent or i'm
proper persons, or, being competent,
have been rascals. Some of these men
he has selected without knowing any
thing about them; others he appointed
upon the endorsement of members of
Congress of his party who have not hest
tated TO betray his confidence.
President Cleveland has been pulled
both ways, continued the Senator from
Vermont, between his civil service re-
form pledges and the party pressure.
Sometimes he appeared to hold to the
one and sometimes to yield to the other.
The Senator firmly believes that the
Democrats will renominate him, how
ever, for fear they cannot find another
man who would do as well.